Army
to work with media on Arlington accessBy
William H. McMichael, Army TimesPosted
: Thursday May 1, 2008The
Army says it will work to give news reporters better access when families
grant permission for coverage of their loved ones’ funerals at Arlington
National Cemetery.

Stephanie
Hoehne, principal deputy chief of Army public affairs, said she thinks
there is a way to improve such access, when permission is granted, yet
also guard family privacy by not going overboard.

“I
think there’s some middle ground here,” said Hoehne, who along with Arlington
officials met with Pentagon reporters Wednesday. “There are ways we can
address both the families’ and Arlington’s needs to keep this a dignified
ceremonial event, and address your needs to be able to cover it adequately.”

Currently,
Arlington rules keep the media at a distance that varies with the terrain,
but is typically out of earshot. Families that ask for or agree to media
coverage presumably want to publicly honor the veteran being buried, and
news organizations consider the words spoken at the service to be important
components of such news stories.

The
Arlington rules also make it difficult for photographers to get a clear
photo of, for instance, the folded flag being presented to a family member.

Hoehne
said the Army, the executive agency for Arlington, will review its procedures
there, consider possible adjustments and review those with reporters from
a variety of media in an attempt to find common ground.

Hoehne
said technical solutions may exist, such as placement of discreet microphones,
which would improve reporters’ ability to cover the funerals in greater
detail. She also said the Army will work to set media ground rules for
conduct during funeral coverage.

She
offered no immediate solutions to the difficulties encountered by photographers
in getting newsworthy images without unnecessarily intruding on family
privacy.

“We’re
going to work together,” Hoehne promised. “And we’re going to work with
you.”

The
issue was raised by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, who covered
the April 23 funeral of Marine Corps Lt. Col. Billy Hall — whose family
gave permission for coverage — and decried the rules as contrary to the
spirit of the family’s wishes and more in keeping with the Pentagon policy
of prohibiting photographs of flag-draped caskets being returned from the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at trans-shipment points such as Dover Air
Force Base, Del.

Only
the family can decide whether to allow media coverage, Hoehne said.

“We
have had families tell us over and over again, ‘We don’t mind the media
being there, but I don’t want to see them,’” said Thurman Higginbotham,
Arlington’s deputy director.

“But
the next person might say you can sit in the chair next to them,” he said.
“Every family is different.”